160 vs 200 gr. Bullet

I've been shooting in Bullseye competitions for 2 years with a Dave Salyer wadgun, using 200 gr. magnus SWC, over 3.9 gr. Bullseye.  Dave mentioned that he was shooting 160 gr. Valiants over 4.4 gr. Bullseye.  What would be the advantages of his load over the one I'm using?  What, if any, would be the disadvantages of going to the lighter bullet?  PS I have no malfunction problems with my current load and the gun/load combination will out shoot me on my best day.  Your comments are appreciated.  Thanks,  Tom

The truth is They are cheap and Dave is a thrifty guy. I also have many valiant 160s they do shoot well even very good at 25 yards, imo they require more powder to gain the best accuracy I use 4.5 of bullseye  but the 200s are more consistent at 50 yds. As to advantages, other than cost not much, with the higher powder charge they have about the same or more recoil than the 200s with 3.9.

Thanks, appreciate the information.

I got my Master card using 160's and 4.4 grains of BE.  However I got that card because my short line scores in a 900 match were around 590.  My long line averaged 270 on a good day using the 160's.

160's are great for short line but I would really encourage a new shooter to use something heavier for the long line.

sixftunda wrote:I got my Master card using 160's and 4.4 grains of BE.  However I got that card because my short line scores in a 900 match were around 590.  My long line averaged 270 on a good day using the 160's.

160's are great for short line but I would really encourage a new shooter to use something heavier for the long line.

did you feel the 160's had less recoil with that load vs a 200 lswc?

Right now I am using Zero 185 HPSWC or 200 gr SWC with 3.8 BE.  The 185's have slightly less recoil for me.  Use a 10# spring and a slide mount now.  

This Spring I went to the range with different combinations of loads and springs.  I used 160, 185, and 200 gr bullets.  The 185's felt the best for me.  

I am a big believer that recoil is the key to mastering the short line.  Recoil eats up time.  Anything you can do to eliminate recoil will help you.  Any half decent bullet/powder combo will clean a target at 25 yards.  

When making a load for 50 yards, focus on accuracy.
When making a load for 25 yards, focus on recoil.

I'm with you sixft, since 2/3 of the match is @ 25 might as well clean all of them =]  Right now i shoot irons. Not sure if i'm going to go to a dot or not... but if i do it will be a frame mount. my goal is to find a 25 yard load that has the least amount of recoil.